Amalgam Universe

Challenge #01776-D315: But They Look So Cute...

“I’ll be honest... sometimes, it’s easy to forget that humans are/were predators…” -- TheDragonsFlame

Humans are pack creatures. They're friendly. They'll share their pack-bonding with anyone. They'll share their pack-bonding with inanimate objects. They'll share food, entertainment, beverages... They're generally an outgoing species. Gentle and kind to those they count as their friends. Considerate to Havenworlders of all species.

It's easy to forget that they are deathworlders. It's easy to forget that they are deadly. Like the apocryphal tiger cub raised from a kitten, it's easy to think of them as gigantic loveable softies and not deadly predators.

Until things turn for the worse.

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Challenge #01775-D314: Haptic Feedback

Aliens vs human ticklishness -- TheDragonsFlame

The ships' human was out of sorts. Grumpy. Tetchy. Upset. They had gone close-mouthed and reticent, and it was Gorthax's job to keep the human happy. He had read what the Edge Territories knew about humans, three times over. And attempted every comfort. Except this one.

Humans thrived on companionable touch. But humans also had eroding acids in their perspiration. Which was a problem because a human could wither and die under the influence of Touch

Challenge #01774-D313: Tiny New Friend

Giant sapient space spiders meet tiny Earth spiders -- TheDragonsFlame

You need a great amount of arachnophilia to deal with the H'nuff'ruff. The mere sight of having a gigantic spider sneak up on one is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, Sally thought they were cute, and wore a speech-to-palp-sign translator almost permanently on her brow. She also had a palp-sign-to-text translator permanently running on her eyescreen.

So she definitely did not jump when tapped delicately on the shoulder by a

Challenge #01773-D312: Rocks Fall!

Human: “Ok, how bad is it? Just lay it on me, I can take it…”

Numid: [extent of injury]

H: “Oh, that’s it? I thought it was something serious.”

N: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘THAT’S IT!?!’ -- TheDragonsFlame

Carrie came around to nervous Numidid chirping. Huh. People really did panic in their home tongue. With consciousness came an intense amount of pain. She moaned.

"[There is one alive!]" The Numidids hooted. In broken English, "You with anyone?"

Carrie concentrated on

Challenge #01769-D308: Like a Bad Smell

Imagine a race of Aliens who communicate through scent like humans communicate through body language. So when they run into us they're terrified of this species that likes to coat itself in the equivalent of 'Berserker Rage'. And when we DO stop wearing 'perfume/cologne' we're so 'blank' to them that they'd almost prefer the emotional screaming again. -- Anon Guest

They could communicate with dancing hands, and that was well and good. It wasn't until they attempted in-atmosphere communication that things

Challenge #01768-D307: The Endless Cycle

"I have heaps of stuff I use and need. I've even got them sorted and stored. So Why do I have to go back and buy stuff?" No matter what you do for a hobby this happens. -- Knitnan

There is an old saying: If you want to fill a space, get a hobby.

It doesn't matter what the hobby is, be it something big, like model building, or something relatively small, like handicrafts. Sooner or later... it happens. SABLE. Stash Above

Challenge #01767-D306: The Double Feature Picture Show

Humans watch an alien horror movie featuring the humans as the monster -- TheDragonsFlame

The idea of genre is nothing new. The idea of Horror is something uniquely human that took off in various forms around Galactic Society. An entertainment designed to scare, but not scare badly. Or to be really bad at scaring, depending on your point of view. It was a means by which Havenworlders could toughen up their genes and join larger and larger areas of Galactic Society.

And

Challenge #01766-D305: The Dog in the Fight

So in the Human are the Space Orcs, it looks like we are on a level 3.5-4 Deathworld. This makes us fairly B.A.. However there are references to creatures from level six Deathworlds. What happens when they meet? Do humans feel threatened by them, are humans just the perfect mix of craziness and inability to die that the level six deathworlders are just scaredy cats, do they replace the humans, or have humans finally found an alien species they can

Challenge #01764-D303: The Human Enigma

An energy type weapon is designed to subdue the target without killing it : the wounds are small but painful, the beam cauterizes the wound and it's fairly quiet. It's a civilised weapon.

A powder propelled type weapon is designed to kill the target and scare its opponent : the wound can be huge, it bleed a lot, the sound is horrifying. It's a human weapon. -- Anon Guest

The argument against humanity joining Galactic Society went like this: Have you seen their weaponry

Challenge #01763-D302: Cleanup Needed

Never enter an unknown atmosphere without airtight suit. Especially if you are boarding a ship where all the crew and passengers are in airtight suits, one human got a license in chemistry and access to bleach and ammonia. -- Anon Guest

The ships' human was merely there for the alleged good luck that they could potentially produce. It was lucky to have a human on board, and Human George's official role was janitor. Which meant that he had automatic access to the

Challenge #01763-D302: Wiped the Floor

... and this is why the huge wrestler-like bold man is the nurse and the thin woman is the security guard. -- Anon Guest

You need a lot of muscle to be a nurse. For a start, a large part of the job requires being able to lift those who cannot or should not lift themselves. Also required are a strong stomach, a quick mind, and a delicate touch. A good bedside manner is fairly low on the list, all things considered.

Security

Challenge #01762-D301: Grave Error

"We destroyed the protective forces of this colony : this human colony is ours!"

[few days later]

"We lost 1/4th of our soldiers in ambush in the city and in the wood, half of our soldiers are sick because the food and water stock are poisoned AND all of our communication devices got destroyed..." -- Anon Guest

Everyone agreed. It was a very nice planet.

The Cho'vith wanted it enough to bomb a few extant settlements and encourage whatever lived there that

Challenge #01760-D299: Walking Wounded

“‘‘Tis but a flesh wound!”

“It’s really... not...” -- TheDragonsFlame

This human had been through a great amount of trouble to get there. They had multiples of disturbing injuries. Bruises. Cuts. Scrapes, even some breaks in their seemingly unbreakable bones. The last of these, the human had splinted with available material. The twin orifii in the middle of their face was leaking blood. The evident scabbing indicated that this had been going on for some time.

And, most disturbing to the

Challenge #01759-D298: Hazardous Associations

An unknowing (group of) alien(s) tries to take a human as a pet, thinking ‘It’s small and cool-looking.’ Problem is, Humans are to them as velociraptors are to humans. -- TheDragonsFlame

It was quadrupedal and had no bowel control. It had to be an animal. That was the reasoning that lead to Heatstone becoming a pet in the first place. Cho'nish frequently bragged to her friends that Heatstone was a rescue pet. They had hir in simply terrible conditions. And

Challenge #01755-D294: Cut the Glorx Wire

"Have you ever disarmed one of these before?"

"Meh. How hard could it be?" -- Bard2DBone

The strange symbols were counting. That much was recognisable by the repeated sequences. And they seemed to be counting down, too. It was easy to connect the dots. Alien device that was likely counting down? Rising ominous hum? Things were going south quickly.

Therefore, it was time to deploy the human.

Human Shaniqua sighed and placed herself down by the device. There were her usual rituals.

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A 2338-post collection

Challenge #01776-D315: But They Look So Cute...

Challenge #01775-D314: Haptic Feedback

Challenge #01774-D313: Tiny New Friend

Challenge #01773-D312: Rocks Fall!

Challenge #01769-D308: Like a Bad Smell

Challenge #01768-D307: The Endless Cycle

Challenge #01767-D306: The Double Feature Picture Show

Challenge #01766-D305: The Dog in the Fight

Challenge #01764-D303: The Human Enigma

Challenge #01763-D302: Cleanup Needed

Challenge #01763-D302: Wiped the Floor

Challenge #01762-D301: Grave Error

Challenge #01760-D299: Walking Wounded

Challenge #01759-D298: Hazardous Associations

Challenge #01755-D294: Cut the Glorx Wire